getting rid of glue stains on planks

[harbm]

I have a few wood glue stains on my deck and some CA glue stains on the stern. Does anyone have any suggestions how to get rid of them as I find they really ruin the aesthetics of the ship. I thought of using some nail polish but perhaps that would make it worse? I attached some pics:

 

 

[harbm]

deck:

[mtaylor]

I'd start with a soft cloth and the right solvent for each glue (alcohol for PVA and acetone for CA).  Wipe carefully and don't let it soak into the wood as it might loosen the planks.  If that fails, sand.

 

When gluing with PVA, use a cotton swab or a cloth soaked in water to remove the excess glue.  CA need acetone.

[Mike Y]

If the glue is on the surface - you can try a rotary tool with nylon brush. Works surprisingly well. Do a short touches, if you press the brush to the wood for a long time - it will overheat and burn the wood.

Brush like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-403-Bristle-Brush/dp/B00004UDGS

[Chuck]

Just sand the heck out of it.  The wood is thick enough and can take it.   Start with 220 grit and then follow up with some really fine stuff.   I see this all the time in my local club.  For whatever reason they are scared and nervous about it.  They dont think 1/32" or even 1/16' thick strips can take sanding.   Usually I just ask the model builder if I can grab the hull and show them.  Its a very easy thing to do and there is no danger at all.  Most of the glue will not have soaked well below the surface at all.    Surface prep is key to getting a good finish.   Sanding with a fine grit will leave a super smooth surface free of glue stains and show no blotches..  

 

If you are still nervous about it...plank a dummy piece of wood and leave similar stains and blotches...test it out to see how far you can go and what it will look like after you are done.

 

Chuck

[testazyk]

Water will work on PVA but the older the stain the harder it is to get off.  Then sanding works best I think.  Be really careful removing CA because acetone can interact with some woods and/or cheap CA and leave hideous white stains on the wood.  Test it out first and when in doubt sand rather than use a solvent.

[hornet]

I recently bought a proxxon pen sander. It seems to work well in removing a small amount of wood - especially in tight corners - light sanding the stains is the best option. I know it is a bit 'shut the gate after the horse has bolted' harbm, but might I suggest that the easiest way to avoid CA stains is not to use it unless absolutely necessary. I use a gel, which is much less messy that other CA glues, but I only use it at the very end of a plank if I can't get a clamp on it. I use ZAP CA when fixing copper plating, but other than that I avoid the stuff. PVA is much more forgiving and easy to remove.

Edited October 11, 2014 by hornet

[harbm]

Thanks everyone. I found some CA debonder at my local hobby shop. It worked really well, and works much better than acetone. Maybe a little too well. Some planks came loose! I soaked the stain areas with debonder for a few hours, and some sanding (400 grit) got rid of all the CA stains. 

 

The chemical is called Gamma butyrolactone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Butyrolactone

 

It's also great for getting rid of CA on fingers (way quicker than acetone). 

 

Lesson learned though, I am going to avoid CA except when necessary from now on. 

[hornet]

Yes, I used debonder to remove CA glue from copper plates. Problem was it also removed the copper plates from the ship's hull. You have to be very careful when applying that stuff!!

[testazyk]

Sounds like "Debonder" is well named!